SAO: Stories from Within
by ElliotLi
Summary: Inside Sword Art Online were 10,000 players. Not all of their stories were told. No one ever knew their stories until now.
1. Chapter one M A K I

As he sat on the grass, in a spot conveniently underneath a lovely willow tree, and watched the sunset, the young man thought to himself. _It's been three months since this stupid game trapped all of us in here, and I still can't seem to wrap my head around it all. All I ever see when I'm out is people who are fighting for their lives, both in-game and real life. This is not what I wanted when I started playing this game. I expected a cool place where I could be myself, yet have my escape from reality. But this place… this is much more real than anyone could have ever imagined. Do I regret putting on the nerve gear? Sure, I mean I would rather prefer my life over a virtual reality based game. Whatever made me get it, I'll probably never find out. Hopefully I do, but at this point I'm just trying to be realistic rather than optimistic; it may cause damage to me psychologically. Though, my mind should be focused on leveling, getting stronger, and finding a way to get to defeat the boss on level 100. I have to find a way to get out of here. _He took a deep breath in to calm his nerves a little bit then stood up, and walked away to find a lodge to stay for the night.

[ONE WEEK LATER…]

The young man, known as Maki, was out in the field killing monsters early one morning. His goal was to reach level thirty-seven before dinner so he could have enough Col to buy food, and also get some better equipment. "Maybe if I get enough this time, I can get something better to eat. Maybe some more meat if I can afford it! I'm getting hungry just thinking about-!" His rambling was interrupted by the sound of cheerful humming from the nearby hill, followed by some giggling. "Hm? Is there a player over there? What are they doing here so early?" he jolted just a little bit, "Hopefully it's not a trap if I go over th-there and find out wh-who it is…" Maki took a deep breath in, then with his hand on his sword and his eyes focused on his surroundings he made his way towards the hill. As he reached the midway point of the slope he heard a small scream and a giant splash. _Is someone in danger? It sounded like a girl! _He hurried over to make sure the player was ok. As he stood atop the hill, he looked down and saw a young looking girl with light blue hair sitting in the middle of the crook. It wasn't deep so her hands were supporting her as she sat there with her head held low. "Eh?! Miss!" he started running down to her, "Miss are you okay? Did you get hurt?" As he was walking through the water, he heard her giggling again. _Hm? Is… is she… really giggling..? _

"Miss?"

"Hehe! Hi!" She spoke happily as she looked up at him. He just looked back at her, still puzzled at what was so funny that she completely forgot she screamed and fell into the water. "U-Uhm.. are you ok..?"

"Hm? Me? Of course I am!" She sprung up from the ground, and giggled slightly as she placed her hands on her waist. "Don't I look ok? My health bar isn't decreasing or anything, right?" Maki did notice that her health bar was still green; though it was obvious a fall into water would not do any serious damage. "Y-Yea…right. I-I was just worried when I heard a scream. I thought you might have been attacked by something so I came to help in any way I could. I'm just glad nothing bad happened to you."

"Well, I'm ok. No worries, ya?"

"Hehe… yea no worries. Well, now that I know you're safe," Maki smiled and began to walk away, "I'll be on my way then-"

"Wait!" She grabbed his sleeve to make him stop. He turned around and looked at her, his puzzled face returning yet again. "Yes?" he questioned. "What's your name? We should be friends!" She giggled and opened up her friends list, waiting for him to state his name. "E-Er… Maki…" The girl smiled and added him as a friend. He pulled up his friends list and looked at the recent request he had.

【**Lavender** would like to be your friend.】

"Your name is Lavender?" He accepted the request and looked up at her, puzzled (shocker). "Yea. Why do you ask in that tone? Do you hate the name or something?"

"N-No! it's not like that I promise! It's just that… your hair… it doesn't really match your name that well, don't you think?"

"Oh! Well, when I first joined the game, my character had purple hair. When we all looked in that little mirror at the opening ceremony, my hair turned blue and well, this is how I really look. Blue hair and all… somewhat."

"Ah, I see. When I first started, I had long hair put on my character instead of my real short hair. I had the same hair color that I do right now though; I like to feel like I'm one with the game."

"So I suppose this is a little more than you bargained for, huh? Hehe!" They both laughed at the joke Lavender made, but slowly stopped at the realization of the truth in it. "So…" Lavender made a small attempt to break the awkward silence, "What are you doing out here so early?"

"Funny you should ask, I was curious about what you were doing out here so early. As for me, I just want to get enough money for food and equipment. Col doesn't come easy, you know." He chuckled a little. Lavender giggled a little bit then spoke softly, "I just… wanted to test out something. But it's not important. You must be hungry right? Come on there is a nice little place where we can grab a bite to eat in the village nearby! My treat!" Before Maki even had a chance to say something, Lavender was running over the hill laughing. Maki was a little stunned at the fact he wouldn't have to pay for his food. "I'll race you! You have to pay if I win!~" she shouted. Maki instantly snapped out of it and started running after her shouting back, "Hey! N-No fair! You got a head start! Lavender wait up!"


	2. Chapter two N E E - C H A N?

When they were eating their food at the table, Lavender bluntly asked, "So do you have anyone you know in here?" The look on her face was serious, yet concerned; she wanted to know, but was scared to find out the answer. "Uh… y-yea… my dad." Maki lowered his head and looked down at his breakfast, which was already half eaten. Lavender tried her best not to show any sort of negative emotion towards the fact that his own father was in the game, and she certainly did not want to bring up the question if Maki had found him yet… or worse, so she just lowered her head as well and stared at her own plate of food. It was barely touched. "No… I haven't yet…" Her head lifted at his sudden statement. "I haven't found him yet." He gripped the fork that was in his hand as he lowered his head even more so that it covered his eyes. "But I hope I find him soon. I miss him already, and it's my fault he's in here in the first place!" He slammed the table which caused his spoon to fall on the floor. It was silent between them for a while, and then Lavender spoke softly. "Well…" she looked up and smiled kindly at him, "maybe he's looking for you, and he just can't find you because you're both looking in the wrong places." Her attempts of trying to cheer him up failed. Maki did not move from his position, nor was he even phased by what she said; not in the least. "Can you promise me something, Maki?" He remained silent, but nodded his head slightly. "Promise me you'll stay with me? I don't want to lose my new friend, ok!" She giggled and smiled brightly. Maki looked up at her, only enough for one eye to see her, and smiled a bit. He wasn't going to break this promise.

After their day was over, and weapons depleting in durability, the two players decided to stay overnight at a lodge together. They agreed on splitting the cost for the one room they were to buy. Maki insisted he take the floor, and he offered the comfy bed to Lavender. She blushed and gratefully accepted his kind gesture with a giggle and smile. He blushed in return. When they woke up the next morning, Lavender heard a commotion coming from down the hall in the lobby. She told Maki, and they both got their stuff together and headed toward the loud commotion.

"But my party needs that room to stay for tonight!"

"No! I have the money right now, and a much more important reason! We need to stay in that room! This is a big chance for my guild!" Lavender and Maki quietly approached the loud crowd, that seemed to be formed of only two parties, one being much bigger than the other, and Lavender quickly intervened. "What's going on here?" She shouted at the bickering parties. Everyone stopped yelling and stared at her. "Which two are the leaders? You two?" She pointed at the two men who looked like they were about to punch each other. They nodded and quickly fixed their posture from a fighting stance to standing straight. One of the leaders, who had shoulder length onyx hair, approached Lavender and grabbed her hand as he spoke, "Good morning, miss." He gently kissed her hand causing her to blush and Maki to get flustered. "My name is Kuro. I'm the leader of my guild, Merciless." He smiled a chuckled a bit. "Nice to know…" Lavender said as she pulled her hand out of his grasp and walked calmly over to the other boy. As she crossed her arms over her chest, she asked him, "Now are you going to try and make a move on me too, or just introduce yourself to me like a normal person?" Kuro froze from her semi-harsh comment that was indirectly aimed at him. The other party leader shook his head nervously. "You can call me Junsuke, or Jun for short. My friends in highschool call me Junju or JunJun, but I guess that doesn't really ma-"

"I asked for your name, not a speech, silly. Hehe!~" Lavender giggled and poked his chest gently. Junsuke blushed horribly and straightened up more before bowing to her. "I'm sorry! I have a tendency to ramble a lot!" His action made Lavender giggle more. It was sweet that he was so nervous and respectful. She liked that a lot about him. "It's fine, Jun. Now, what I really want to know is why you two were yelling at each other so much just then. Tell me that?" Kuro stepped forward with a serious expression and his right hand on his heart. "My party needs to stay in the room next door to the members from the guild Inazuma. It would be in my best interest to get into that guild so I-..we can get more powerful, and increase our intelligence in what this game really is about. We need to stay next door to be able to talk to them and show them our skill!-"

"But you have too many members! You're not going to fit in that small room! We need that room for when our other members come back from the field! They'll be so exhausted and need a place to sleep from fighting all night! Plus, it's such a convenience that it's located right next to the room that we're staying in! Please let us have the-"

"No! We need that room! Our reason is more important!"

"Like hell it is!"

"Oh, big talk for such a small brat!"

"Brat?! Who are you calling brat, you old perv!"

"Uhm.. you two… you sh-should-" Lavender spoke softly, not really knowing what to say or do.

"P-Perv?! N-Now listen here you runt! I'm not old, and I'm certainly not a perv!"

"Coming from Mr. Casanova, I highly doubt that!" Junsuke stuck out his tongue and lifted up his nose with his finger. "Pig!" Junsuke's words only made Kuro angrier; his actions didn't persuade him either. Lavender was just standing there, not knowing what to say or do; just quiet. It wasn't until Maki interrupted them that the two stopped bickering so aggressively. "Quit it you two! For crying out loud you both are acting so immature! Even in the presence of a girl, you both have no intention of cleaning yourselves up." Lavender, Kuro, and Jun turned to Maki who was leaning against the wall with his arms over his chest and his eyes closed. He looked up to the two bickering fools and walked toward them. "Listen, from what I hear," he pointed to Kuro, "you're a selfish pig who doesn't think of anyone other than yourself." Junsuke snickered a bit at Maki's statement, but stopped when his finger was pointed at him. "And you.. you're just immature beyond belief. Your intentions are in a good place, but if all you do is whine and complain just to get things easily then you won't end up with anything." Jun looked down at the floor as he realized the truth in his words. "I-… I'm sorry… I just don't know how to handle situations like this very well…" Maki smiled a bit at Jun, trying to cheer him up a bit, and said, "You just need to work a bit on it, alright? How old are you, erm… Jun, right?"

"Yes, I-I'm 14."

"Whoa, so young and you're stuck playing a game like this?"

"I played it for the hype at my school. Everyone was trying to get it, and I was one of the lucky- well, unlucky ones, I suppose." Jun went silent after that. He appeared as if he was trying to forget something. Maki decided to give him a minute, understanding that he may be thinking about his life in the real world, and he turned his attention on Kuro. "How old are you?"

"Me? I'm 26, but why does it-?"

"Listen to me, and listen well. I may not be older than you, I may not be as intelligent as you, I may not be as strong as you, but if I know how to treat people, friends, and especially women, then I promise you that I'd have a better chance at getting into that guild than you ever will." Maki gave Kuro a glare that showed his hatred for his personality. It was shocking to him when Kuro started to laugh, and it wasn't a chuckle, it was as if something hilarious had just happened. It gave Maki an uneasy feeling. "Really? You truly think that all of that stuff matters? When you're fighting a beast you wouldn't treat it the same way you'd treat a girl, right? You kill it! As long as you're alive, everything is ok! Am I right?" The members of his guild cheered behind him. Were they all just his puppets? "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get this room, kid." Kuro pushed Maki out of the way, and went to the front desk. "H-Hey-!" The Merciless members blocked his path so their leader could pay for the room. Maki didn't want him to get the room, not because Jun's reason was better, but because of the completely selfish reasons behind it; but no matter what, Kuro still go the room. _CHRING!_

After Kuro left, Junsuke was sitting on the floor in the lobby talking with his party members on what they would decide. They ended up settling on the room that was surprisingly located next to Maki and Lavender's room for the other half of their party. Maki overheard this and told Jun, "You know… Lavender and I were about to check out from here until we saw you guys fighting. We still haven't checked out yet so if you want our room when we're gone, you can switch." Junsuke smiled at his kind offer, yet told him, "We would, but money is a bit tight on us right now. Food and equipment are costly even for our little group, but we don't have enough to pay the stupid fees twice. Thank you for your kind offer th-"

"Take this, then." Lavender walked toward Jun and gave him some Col; it was a little bit over the cost of the room. "R-Really? Oh, I don't think I can take this and n-not feel guilty after-"

"Take it. Consider it an apology for Kuro's stupidity!~" Lavender giggled and smiled as she always did. Maki looked at her and whispered, "Lavender, are you sure? Won't you need that money for later? What about a better sword or armor?"

"I don't need it, Maki. Plus, it's better to give than to receive! Hehe!~"

"Hehe, you're too nice of a person, Lavender."

"Your name is Lavender?" Junsuke look at the girl for a moment then smiled brightly. "What a pretty name!" Lavender blushed a little bit, and giggled nervously, "W-Well it's not my real name, but I like it too." Junsuke nodded in agreement, and got closer to her. "Can I call you big sister? Oh please may I please?~" Lavender didn't know what to say so she turned back to Maki who had wandered over to the front desk to sign off on the room, not wanting to get involved in another conversation. "U-Uh… sure, I suppose. No harm in it, right? Hehe~" Jun smiled brightly and jumped for joy, "Yahoo! I'm so glad to have met you both, Lavender and Maki. Thank you so much for all of your kindness!" With that, Jun walked back over to his party that was huddled around the door to their room. Lavender could hear the happiness in their voices when Junsuke pulled out the money and pointed to her. All she could do was smile, for this is what she loved to do. Maki walked over to Lavender and smiled as well. "Come on, we have to go get stuff done if we're going to replace the Col you gave him."

"Why are you such a penny pincher, Maki? It's not like I gave away a million Col."

"I am so not treating this situation that dramatically!"

"You kind of are!~" Lavender giggled as they walked out of the lodge. Junsuke watched them as they left and smiled softly. "I hope I see you again soon, big sister."


End file.
